Can Burnley Qualify For European Football Next Season?

It’s been quite a remarkable rise this season for Burnley Football Club, with the Clarets currently sitting 6th in the table heading into gameweek 15 of the Premier League.

Ahead of Tottenham Hotspur and only four points adrift of 3rd place Chelsea, Sean Dyche’s men have certainly over exceeded expectations so far this season.

Having already improved on last season’s away form, Burnley have picked up seven wins in their first 14 games, including awe-inspiring wins away at Chelsea and Everton.

With such an encouraging run of form heading into the busy festive period, the question on a lot of people’s minds is, could Burnley push for a European spot come the end of the season?

Some Clarets fans believe so, including landlord owners of The Princess Royal who have made an exhilarate but remarkable promise that should Burnley qualify for European football, the pub shall be renamed ‘The Dyche’.

Pulling off such an achievement for one of the smallest clubs in the Premier League would be sensational in the modern game, and would undisputedly belong among the rare fairytale stories such as Leicester City’s title-winning season.

Many younger fans however may not know that Burnley were one of the top teams in England during the late 50’s and early 60’s, and cherished a European campaign in 1960-61 after winning the English First Division the season prior.

They defeated French champions Stade de Reims in the knockout round over two legs, but fell short over two legs in the quarter final stage against German side Hamburger SV.

With all this attention, Dyche is making sure to not get himself and his team wrapped up in the hype currently surrounding the football club, but does believe the that the possibilities for Burnley are limitless.

He told BBC Radio Lancashire “I think the possibilities are the things that excite everyone. There are some probabilities but possibilities are the thing that are on the tip of everyone’s tongue ‘can we go and do this?’ ‘can we achieve that?’ etc etc.”

Historically, a club vowing to secure a campaign in Europe will need to bag at least over 60 points by the end of the season, and Burnley are currently track to reach 67 points.

Of course form is expected to rise and dip between now and the end of the season, but should Burnley maintain a high level of consistency, then it really is possible that the Clarets fans will be going on a European tour next season.

These next games are huge, as next up for Burnley is a trip to the Midlands to face Leicester City, followed by home games against Watford and Stoke City.